Improvement in clover-harvesters



No. 10,967. I PATENTBD MAYfzs, 1854.

` T. sfsTEADMAN.

CLOVBR HARVESTER.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

TH: Nolens Fermes co.. WAsHmcroN, n. c.

.UNITED STATES THOMAS s. sirnADMAN, on' Mofa-RAY, 'Nnwyoaxl[Aj]i`PATENT' UFFICE.

IMPROVEMENT IN otovlaaiinmlesreas,-`

Speciiication forming part of'Lctters Patent No. 10,967, dated May 23,i854.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that l, Tuoi/iks S. STEADMAN, ofthe town of Murray, conntyot'Urleans, 'State of NewYork, have invented certain new and usefullmprovelnentsin Glover and Grass Seed Harvesters; and I do herebydeclare' that the following is a full, clear, and exact descriptionofthe construction and operation ot' the same, reference being had tothe annexed drawings, makin g part ot' this specllication, in which-Figure lis a perspecti ve view ofthe machine;

Fig. 2, an elevation of the rear end othe' ma chine; Fig. 3, a view ofthe comb; Fig. 4, a view ot' the cutters and rake; Fig. 5, a view of thearms and levers.

'Ihe'box A is five feet wide, ten feet long, and one and a halt foothigh, may be more or less, and it is placed on three wheels. The wheelsB and C, near the front end ofthe box, are three feet in diameter. Thewheel D, (seen in Fi g. 2,) which carries the rear end of lthe box, isone and a halt' foot in diameter, and is attached like a caster, that itmayadjust itself to the motion ot' the machine when turning. The frontend ofthe box A is open, and has a comb extending across the width otit, which is attached tothe bottom. This comb is formed ofthe teeth e cc e, twenty in number, or more or less, according to the width of themachine. These teeth are sixteen inches long, one and a h alf inchbroad, and made of common springsteel three-sixteenths of an inch thick,and are curved downward at the.heels to snit the circle described by theknife, and the points are bent downward to take uLngra-ss or clover thatis laid. Over this comb is placed the crank-shaft E, which has itsbearings ou the upper edges of the side pieces of the box A. The cranksF and G are six or eight inches long. To these'cranks the front ends ofthe pieces H and I are attached, which are of wood, and are four or tivefeet'in length. The rear ends ot' these pieces are attached to the lowerends of the swinging arms J J. The upper ends of these arms are attachedto the upper edges of the side pieces of the box A by bolts, and whenthe machine is in motion they swing back and forth.

A bar of `wood or iron is attached to the under side of the front endsof the pieces H and l, to which the cutters fff(tenV in number) areattached. These cutters `are angled on both sides, being two inches wideat the heels,

are six or seven inches long;

or where they are attached to the cutter-bar, and one Yand a quarterinch atthe point, and These l"cu tt-ers are arrangeththe oenter'ot' eachcutterover the center of every alternate tooth fintlie conib; hencethereare only half as nianyicutters" as there are teeth in the comb, andevery cutter cuts over two spaces between the comb-teeth, A straightcutter may be used in some cutting but itis believed not as well.

The pinion o is attached to the crankshaft E. The cog-wheel P isattached to the drivingwheel B. The wheel P and pinion o are connectedby the intermedia-te cog-wheel`, R, which is inserted in order to givethe cutters a backward motion as they pass over the comb. ThecrankshaftE has about six motions to one revolution of thedriving-wheel. Thus, as the machine advances, the cutters revolve withthe cranks F and G and pass over the comb with a rapid motion, and cutwhatever may be between the comb-teeth and throw it back into the box A.

` In order to move the cut seed farther away from the cutters andprevent the cutters from choking, the rake S is used, which is attachedto the pieces H and l about sixteen or eighteen inches back of thecutters, and th'e seed that is cut and thrown back by the cutters at onemotion is taken by the rakeazt the next motion and thrown still fartherback; and as many of these'rakes may be used as may be desired.

In order that these machines be adapted to the varied circumstancesunder which theyV have to be used, itis necessary that they be soconstructed that they can be conveniently raised and lowered even whenin motion. To provide for this the axles of the wheels B and C, whichare of cast-iron, have each an arm, L, Fig. 5, extending forwardalongside of the box A up to the shaft E, and have slats on the frontends to receive the shaft E and segmentshaped arms on the rear ends.These segments have tongues or lips that work under the fianges M, thatare made fast to the box A. Thus the axles are left to play freely upand down on the sides ot' the box A; and to hold them down and to keepthe box up from the ground the lever U and one like unto it on theopposite side are used, which are attached to the box by bolts at l,Fig. 1, and the front ends rest on the axles ot' the wheels B and C. Tothe rear 'ends of these levers there are cords attached, which connectthem to the pulleys V and W. These pulleys are attached to shafts thatextend to the plate X, and are operated by the levers y y and when it is`desired to raise themachine-forinstance,atB-theoperator takes held ofthe lever y and pulls it back,

and if he desires .to keep the machine up he puts a pin over the leverinto the plate X, and the other side is raised in like manner. By thisarrangement either side is raised or bothA sides raised and lowered tosuit circumstances, even when the machine is in motion; and the wheelsbeing left free to play down from the levers, when the box is raised thewheels keep. tothe ground, when the box passes over stones orv otherobstructions, which is an important feature in the operation of thismachine.

In order that the three cog-Wheels be always kept in place, theintermediate wheel,R, has its axis attached to the arm L of the axle ofthe Wheel B, that extends up to the shaft E. The wheel R is removed fromits place when it is desired to throw the cutters out of gear.

The machine is drawn by one horse attached by thills at the front end.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, s

1. The arrangement of the cutters, in combinationwith the comb,operating in the manner' and for the purposes described.

2. The rake S, in combination with the cutters, as described.

E. WILcox, t ROYAL' S. SALIsBURY.

